It seems that everybody hates the Middle Lane Hugger, even though we all have done it at one time or another. The rules of the road mandate that when not overtaking we should return to the right lane, (or left lane where driving is on the left.) We have no argument with that, so why do we constantly find ourselves drifting into the middle lane?
The right lane is where we find the slow pokes, drivers who stick to half the speed limit. That prompts traffic from behind to have to move out into the middle lane, but who find themselves locked behind the slow poke by the mid lane huggers. Then there are all those emerging vehicles that do not want to have to stop. They will force the crowd already in the right lane into the mid lane, which is full of mid lane huggers.
To insist on defaulting to the righthand lane requires a lot of in the lane and out again. If you take up a position in the mid lane and just stay there you are in a stable position. However, faster moving traffic find that you are a hazard and a bloody nuisance. To correctly overtake you, assuming that they are in the righthand lane requires that they move two lanes to the left, which can create a danger in itself. Many drivers will overtake you to your right, which is of course incorrect and also dangerous.
Now, the law has been stiffened against Mid Lane Huggers to discourage the practise. However, no-one has defined what is the maximum time period and length of travel that defines mid lane hugging. Clearly, if there are only two cars moving along, you and one other, once you have overtaken him you should promptly return to the righthand lane. But when it's busy time, with trucks, buses, and lots of private vehicles, that would require constant into and out of the righthand lane, and it seems to me that increases the danger rather than improving the flow.
If I am ever a Mid Lane hugger, I promise to do better.
Copyright (c) 2015 Eugene Carmichael
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